Authors: M. R. Merrick
“What the hell!” I said.
“I guess we know what the mark is.”
“I think I better go see Marcus now.”
I threw on my pants and a shirt and went downstairs. Rayna was already sitting at the kitchen table with a bowl of cereal, but she averted her eyes as I came down the stairs, her cheeks reddening. It felt good to know I could fluster her.
“Come in here, you two.” Marcus said, poking his head out of one of the doors near the stairs.
The room within was huge, and blue exercise mats lined the floor. Exercise equipment filled each corner, from punching bags to free weights. Marcus stood in the center.
“You weren’t kidding when you said we’d start training right away,” I said.
“I’m afraid your training will have to wait. There’s a group of hunters from our territory and the surrounding area who have either been exiled or are rogues who chose to leave. I’ve been in touch with most of them and we’ve decided to meet.”
“That’s great! The more people on our side, the better. When do we leave?”
“
We
don’t leave; your mother and I will be going alone.”
“Why can’t we come?”
“Firstly, because you aren’t yet eighteen. Secondly, you’ve got a meeting with Vincent tonight, one that I regret to say I cannot attend.”
“Wow, and you’re going to let us go on our own?”
“I have no choice. If we try to cancel, or reschedule, Vincent will be far from pleased, and we don’t want him as our enemy.”
“Fair enough.”
“I’ve made a copy of the scroll and hope to gain insight into its meaning at the meeting,” he said.
“Any luck regarding the ring, or anything about the mark?”
“None of my material makes reference to them, but everybody will be looking into it. It’s piqued many of the hunters’ interest, but without knowing what the mark is, it’s a difficult search.”
“Maybe this will help.” I turned my back to him and lifted up my shirt. “Any ideas?”
“I… no,” he replied. “Strange. And this just appeared?”
“I woke up and there it was.”
Marcus stared at the tattoo, seemingly lost in his own thoughts. He cleared his throat. “I’ll take a picture of this and bring it with me. We should be back in a day or two, and hopefully by then we’ll have some answers. Until then, you two are going to go to your rendezvous, make the trade and return here. Do not leave this condo otherwise. Is that understood?”
“Yes, sir,” I said.
“I mean it, Chase. It’s not safe in this city for either of you right now, and I don’t want anything to happen while I’m gone.” he said with his neutral, disinterested expression.
“What do you mean it’s not safe?”
Marcus shook his head and ignored the question.
“You know, I’m getting a little tired of secrets, Marcus.”
“I don’t have any answers yet.”
“Yeah, well, it would be nice to be included in what you do know, or even what you think.”
“Chase, we’ve been over this. I need you to be patient and trust me. Rayna will be working with you while I’m away. She can teach you the basic exercises to help you control your element.”
I was tired of him changing topics and tired of trusting him. He had yet to do anything but add to the mysteries that seemed to fill my life, but before I could respond the door opened and Mom entered.
“Marcus we need to get going if we’re going to....” she stopped and gasped. “Chase, what is that on your back?”
“Umm, surprise! I got a tattoo.” I smirked.
My mom rushed over but Marcus quickly interjected. “Tessa, he’s kidding. I believe this is the mark.”
Mom looked at Marcus and then back at me. “Oh, Chase,” she said, shaking her head, but there was a worried tone in her voice. “I know Marcus has told you the rules, and I expect you to follow them.” She gave me the no-nonsense look that all mothers have.
“I know, I know. Don’t leave the condo.”
“I mean it. It’s important you listen to Marcus on this one. It’s for your own good.”
“Don’t worry so much.”
“I’m your mother. That’s what I do.”
“I know.”
“Alright, well you two be good,” she said, wrapping Rayna and me in a hug.
“Mom, relax. Everything will be fine. It’s just a couple of days. How much trouble could we get into?”
Mom pulled away and glared at me. “Rayna, don’t be afraid to keep him in line.”
“No worries, Tessa. If he gets out of line, it’ll only take a few smacks to straighten him out.” She smiled.
“Good girl,” Mom replied.
We walked her and Marcus to the door with their overnight bags in hand. When they had gone, I turned to Rayna. “A few smacks, hey?”
“If necessary.”
“Well if it comes to that, I’ll just take my shirt off. You won’t be able to do anything but stare.”
She brought her fist around and hit me in the arm. “Ouch,” I said, rubbing the sore spot, but she just rolled her eyes and went back to her breakfast.
~~~~~~
Rayna and I spent the few hours before our meeting working on exercises to improve my control. They were boring, to say the least, but anything that would help was a worthwhile. Still, I was more than happy when the clock showed that it was time to go. Rayna was a miniature Marcus in training, and I’d had enough for one day.
We armed ourselves lightly; we both knew whatever weapons we took would be confiscated at the door.
Rayna dressed herself to the nines again, in tight black pants and a green tank top that made her eyes look extra fierce. Black boots with four inch heels brought her to my eye level. She had her hair half up, the dark pieces all held together in a silver clip with the red strands falling down around her shoulders. Her pale skin showed how little she got to be out during the day. In our line of work, there wasn’t much time to get a tan. Our quarry tended to avoid the light.
We left the condo and caught a cab. Even after hundreds of years of life, I doubted Vincent had much patience for tardiness. Rayna and I hadn’t talked about what we would do once we got there. I think we were both hoping to make the exchange as quick and painless as possible, although I had a feeling that Vincent did very few things in a quick and painless manner.
He sat in the same booth as before, surrounded by beautiful girls. The vampires standing around him pretended not to notice us as we approached. Vincent whispered into one girl’s ear, then made her giggle with a kiss on the neck. Rayna had to clear her throat to get his attention as we approached the table. Vincent turned to us, wearing a smile that chilled my bones.
“My sweet Rayna, I thought you might change your mind, so I took the opportunity to… entertain myself.”
“I’m glad you were able to occupy yourself while you waited,” Rayna replied. She faked a smile, but she wasn’t as talented as Vincent when it came to feigning pleasantries. Then again, who was?
“My dear, I do love your ferocity. It’s always a breath of fresh air.”
“Shall we?”
Vincent inclined his head. “Shall we what, my dear? I could take that offer to mean so many different things.” His smile changed into something different, more primal. I thought for a minute that he might try to swallow Rayna whole. The innuendo gave me a mental picture I’d need to scrub out of my mind with steel wool.
“Shall we do the exchange we came here for?” she asked, displaying a flash of the scroll. I thought Vincent’s eyes would pop out of his head at the sight, and he pushed Rayna’s hand under the table with lightning speed.
“Put that away!” he demanded, scanning the room.
Rayna smiled and I looked over the crowd, in search of anything that might be a threat. Tonight, I trusted Vincent even less than usual.
“You’re a little on edge this evening, Vince,” Rayna said.
Vincent shuddered. “Please, it’s Vincent.” He waved everyone around him away and invited us to sit down. “What you’re holding is not something to be flaunted. You never know who could be watching.” Vincent’s eyes met mine and his power pushed against me, but I had my shields up. I wasn’t playing that game again. “There are eyes and ears everywhere,” he continued in a whisper. “I would prefer to complete our arrangement at a different location.”
I laughed and shook my head. “Forget it, Vincent, we’re not giving you the chance to blindside us. Right here is fine. There are plenty of eyes around in case you try anything.”
Vincent shrugged. “There is much going on in the Underworld of which you are unaware, hunter. The sudden disappearance of Underworlders has left many among us with an uneasy feeling. It’s been rumored vampires may be responsible, that we’re working with the hunters. This is something I know nothing about, but the rivers of information that flow my way are running dry. People are distancing themselves from my family, and that is bad for business. So as you can guess, doing any sort of business with the likes of you is criticized.”
I watched Vincent, but his tone and expression gave no hint as to whether he was telling the truth or not. Five hundred years of life – if you could call it that – could teach a person a few things about lying. Vincent’s magic pushed at the edge of my shields again and I put my focus into pushing them away.
“Not this time,” I said.
“This will be much easier if you cooperate, hunter.”
“You’re not getting in my head.”
His magic let up and he leaned towards me. “Let me make one thing clear, Mr. Williams. You are not welcome here, and Rayna is a disgrace to this world. Nobody else will be willing to help you, given the current state of affairs, so you should feel lucky I am being so generous with my time.”
“That’s exactly why we shouldn’t trust you. You’ve got it in your head that we need you. Well I’ll tell you something: we don’t need you. We can take this fancy piece of paper elsewhere if you think you’re above working with us.”
“Chase…” Rayna interrupted, but I put up my hand.
“We’re doing the exchange we agreed upon, here and now. Unless you don’t have the information we need, in which case we’ll be holding on to the scroll.”
“Chase, will you stop and listen...” Rayna began, but I interrupted her.
“Now, do you have what we need or not?” I said, my blue eyes gazing intently into his yellow orbs.
Vincent gave a dramatic sigh before turning to Rayna. “Really, Rayna, why must you involve yourself with the socially inept? He’s like a caveman. He has no appreciation for politics whatsoever.”
Rayna smirked. “But he’s so cute when he gets all determined and commanding, isn’t he?”
Vincent looked at me a moment and nodded. “Yes, I suppose you’re right.”
I raised my eyebrows. Were they really talking about how cute I was when I got mad? Talk about taking the wind out of my sail! I wanted to say ‘
It’s not cute, it’s very manly
!’ but I didn’t think either of them would appreciate that.
“Are we going to do this or not?” I asked impatiently.
“No, I’m sorry. With the Underworld fearing that vampires are involved in the abductions, just being seen with the two of you is a mark against me. If I’m seen doing business of any sort with you, it will damage the reputation of my family. I know you can’t understand the politics, so I won’t bother to explain.”
“Fine,” Rayna said, and pushed me out of the booth.
I shot Rayna a look, but she ignored it.
Vincent smiled. “Thank you, Rayna. I knew I could count on you to understand.”
“Oh, I understand. You’re a vampire – a soulless creature with his own agenda,” she said.
“Now, now, that isn’t fair. You know as well as I do that I have a soul.”
“No, Rayna, we’re doing this now!” I said.
Rayna looked at me. “Relax. We’ll find another way. Trust me.”
I didn’t want to trust her. I wanted to reach across the table and beat the information out of Vincent, but I didn’t. We had something Vincent wanted, and I didn’t want him or his family coming after us for it. But at some point, I was going to have to put my faith in something, and putting it in Rayna seemed as good a plan as any.